Chapter 234
Chapter 234 – Mirror Bodhi
TL: This chapter was more than twice as long as most chapters, hence only one release this week (also been really busy lately unfortunately). Thanks for your understanding.
Black Sea Monster Mansion.
“Red Silk Great Monster General!” The several Monster Generals standing guard in front of the hall called out respectfully, putting their weapons away as soon as they saw him.
“No need to go overboard with etiquette. Is Ancestor still in meditation?” Red Silk Great Monster General said, wearing a gentle smile. Even though he had already reached the Monster Core stage, he still treated the Transformation stage Monster Generals extremely well.
“Yes, His Excellency Black Sea Monster King has been in secluded meditation this whole time, and hasn’t left the hall,” one of the Monster Generals guarding the hall reported. He looked somewhat surprised as he looked behind Red Silk Great Monster General at the white-robed youth standing there.
It was a Dao Foundation stage human cultivator. Perhaps this is the rumored Soul Suppressor Monster General that he had been hearing so much of lately? He thought to himself.
Red Silk Great Monster General turned to Xu Disheng and said, “Soul Suppressor, come on in with me.”
Xu Disheng nodded. Red Silk Great Monster General then took out a command token imbued with monster qi and activated it.
The black gates of the hall swung open, and Xu Disheng followed Red Silk Great Monster General into the hall.
From the outside, the black hall seemed dark and gloomy. But upon entering, it was like passing through a veil that separated the interior from the exterior. Their surroundings blurred, and in the next instant they seemed to have entered a private realm.
The power of heaven and earth here was overflowing and abundant. Rare and precious spiritual herbs could be found all over, and there were yao birds and beasts scattered throughout. Unexpectedly, they were on a floating island!
“Red Silk requests an audience with Ancestor,” Red Silk Great Monster General declared respectfully, unfazed as he spoke into the command token in his hand.
After a while, the voice of a young man echoed in their ears. “Come on up then.”
Having received permission, Red Silk Great Monster General stepped on a nimbus cloud and flew up to the Monster Palace atop the floating island.
Xu Disheng’s eyes flickered, and he also hopped on a nimbus cloud, following after him.
The Monster Palace was grand and majestic. From here, it was possible to get a full view of the small private realm. This location was also where the power of heaven and earth converged. As a result, any technique, cultivation method, or spell practiced here would yield twice the progress with only half the effort.
Before the gate of a palace sat a striking young man with a head full of white hair. He was holding a fishing pole and appeared to be fishing for spirit birds among the clouds.
The young man’s eyes were pitch black. If one were to gaze into his eyes, it would be much like staring into a deep, bottomless abyss that seemed to engross any who had the nerve to look into his eyes, rendering them unable to tear their gaze away.
“Red Silk respectfully greets Ancestor,” Red Silk Great Monster General said, lowering his head in a bow.
“Respectful greetings, Lord Black Sea Monster King,” Xu Disheng said, clasping his fists and bowing. He didn’t show any signs of disrespect whatsoever.
The white-haired young man swept a casual glance over the two of them and then said in an indifferent tone, “A disciple from the Shan Mountain Territory’s Shangqing Sacred Sect?”
Xu Disheng’s pupils constricted, but he didn’t refute him. “As expected of the keen sight of one as astute as Lord Black Sea Monster King.”
Black Sea Monster King put down the long fishing pole that he was holding. As he gazed down at the dozens of spirit birds flying below the Monster Palace, he said, “In this private realm, the Shangqing profound qi in your Jianggong meridian is like a blazing bonfire in the middle of a dark night.”
Red Silk Great Monster General glanced at Xu Disheng out of the periphery of his vision. Slightly hesitant, he came forward and said, “Ancestor, Soul Suppressor may be a disciple of the Shangqing Sacred Sect, but he has joined my Monster Mansion for the time being. He has recently helped our Black Sea to expand its influence by a lot. In this Red Silk’s humble opinion, he is deserving of a reward.”
“And the reward that this Soul Suppressor asked for was an audience with me?” Black Sea Monster Lord replied, getting to his feet and stretching contentedly. He seemed to have expected all of this long in advance. “If there is something you would like to request, please speak your mind.”
Xu Disheng paused for a moment before saying, “I only request to be able to enter Ten Thousand Ghosts Mountain once.”
With a snap of Black Sea Monster King’s fingers, the fishing pole on the ground disappeared without a trace. He turned to look at Xu Disheng with a contemplative gaze. “It’s surprising that a human Dao Foundation stage genius like you isn’t scared of entering the depths of the chaotic fray of the factions in the Quicksand Earth Territory all by yourself. And for you to then come straight into my private realm…Aren’t you scared that I’ll just reach my hand out and crush you to death?”
“Lord Black Sea Monster King surely possesses the strength to do so, but I believe in Red Silk Great Monster General,” Xu Disheng said. In the face of such a threat, his expression was indifferent, without the slightest hint of fear.
When Red Silk Great Monster General heard these words, he felt inwardly pleased.
When Red Silk Great Monster General first established his own Monster Mansion, there were many weak shrimp and small fries among the ranks. Most of the Transformation stage Monster Generals had been stuck at bottlenecks in their cultivation base, unable to make any more advancements. Only Xu Disheng had been truly useful, and Red Silk Great Monster General naturally wanted to reward him for his contributions.
However, Xu Disheng said that he didn’t want any reward. Instead, he said that he only wished to meet with Black Sea Monster King.
Having reached this point, Red Silk Great Monster General’s heart leapt to his throat, scared that Black Sea Monster King would really crush Xu Disheng to bits. He immediately spoke up, saying, “Ancestor, Soul Suppressor is—”
Before he could finish, he was interrupted by a sigh from Black Sea Monster King. “Divine Excellency Quicksand had already passed down the order, saying that if one of us ran into a somewhat special Dao Foundation stage disciple from the Shangqing Sacred Sect, to bring him directly to Ten Thousand Ghosts Mountain. If you did not have any Shangqing profound qi in your Jianggong meridian, I would have swatted you to death the moment you entered my private realm.”
As for what he meant by ‘special’, he didn’t specify.
What Xu Disheng had said about believing in Red Silk Great Monster General had been a lie.
Black Sea Monster King’s cultivation base was equivalent to a human Primordial Spirit stage cultivator. Now that Xu Disheng could channel the power of his true spirit to control the Black Sky Yellow Earth Pagoda, he was confident that if he used his full power, he would be able to escape even from a Primordial Spirit stage existence. That was why Xu Disheng dared to enter this private realm alone to meet a Monster King level powerhouse.
Even if he didn’t have the Black Sky Yellow Earth Pagoda to rely on, Xu Disheng could still rely on his status as a ‘special’ Shangqing Sacred Sect disciple to avoid any potential danger to himself. Despite all this, Xu Disheng would by no means casually reveal himself in a territory with such loose terms of control.
“Many thanks, Lord Black Sea Monster King,” Xu Disheng said curtly, clasping his hands in gratitude.
Black Sea Monster King waved his sleeves, turning back to Red Silk Great Monster General. “Red Silk, the Monster Mansion you established is far too weak. How about I just hand the Black Sea Monster Mansion over to you completely? The Quicksand Earth Territory is about to undergo huge changes. The forces of this Monster Mansion are already useless to me.”
The Black Sea Monster Mansion had several Great Monster Generals among its ranks. And yet, now Black Sea Monster King wanted to hand it all over to Red Silk Great Monster General!
Red Silk Monster General felt a hint of stubborn pride. After all, no matter how good a house made of gold or silver was, it would never be able to beat the comfort of your own home. Perhaps he had been receiving too much exaggerated brown-nosing lately, but in the end the confidence that he had in the Monster Mansion that he established was nothing more than false self-confidence.
“Ancestor, I…”
Black Sea Monster King saw through his thoughts with a single glance. Flicking his sleeves, he said firmly, “You two can withdraw now. Soul Suppressor, in three days, I will bring you to Ten Thousand Ghosts Mountain to meet our Divine Excellency.”
“Then Ancestor, we will see ourselves out at once.”
… …
Quicksand Paradise was the strongest paradise in the entire Quicksand Earth Territory, but it was different from an ordinary monster paradise in quite a few ways.
The spiritual essence of the entire Quicksand Sea had given rise to a rank 7 deity, who had a cultivation base equivalent to a Primordial Spirit stage human cultivator.
Hundreds of thousands of years had passed since the deity’s birth, and a little over 40,000 years ago, it had ranked up once. Right now, it was a rank 6 deity, which was equivalent to a Clone Avatar stage Greater Lord in terms of cultivation base.
Due to the existence of the Shangqing Sacred Sect and Ancient Nuwa Sect in the neighboring Shan Mountain Territory, the originally enormous mountain deity spiritual essence of the region had been divided up into countless fragments. Under the movement of luck and destiny, these fragments had transformed into the countless big and small mountain and river deities that now populated the Shan Mountain Territory.
Ten Thousand Ghosts Mountain was located at the lowest depths of the Quicksand Sea, and it was also the domain of the Quicksand Sea Deity. As a result, there was a vast, majestic Divine Palace located there, quelling the spiritual essence of the entire Quicksand Sea region.
“This opportunity to have an audience with Divine Excellency Quicksand wouldn’t have arisen without you,” Black Sea Monster King said, enveloping Xu Disheng and himself in a protective barrier of monster qi. “Even a Monster King with authority in Quicksand Paradise like me hasn’t been able to meet with Divine Excellency Quicksand in hundreds of years. Even all the matters I had to carry out on behalf of the Quicksand Paradise recently were all simply orders passed down from the Divine Excellency.”
Xu Disheng was standing inside the protective barrier of light, sinking down into the depths of the ocean with Black Sea Monster King at his side. As he saw Ten Thousands Ghosts Mountain at the bottom of the sea drawing closer, his gaze trembled.
Only after reaching this point was he able to finally get a good picture of just how imposingly magnificent Divine Excellency Quicksand’s Divine Palace domain was.
Fine grass sprouted from the slopes, sacred lichen and flora lined the seafloor; towering and exquisite was the palace, suffused with a divine glow. The peak of the mountain was precipitous, lined with sharp crags and towering rocky bluffs.
In spite of the word ‘ghosts’ blemishing its name, Ten Thousand Ghosts Mountain was a genuine Divine Palace belonging to a rank 6 deity.
The two of them landed atop Ten Thousand Ghosts Mountain. Even Black Sea Monster King didn’t dare to speak loudly in this place. He simply clasped his fists to the two Great Monster Generals standing guard outside the Divine Palace and said, “Black Sea is bringing the disciple from the Shangqing Sacred Sect for an audience with the Divine Excellency.”
One of them, a Monster Core stage Great Monster General who looked like a young man, nodded his head and responded, “Go on in then, Black Sea Monster King. The Divine Excellency has been expecting your arrival.”
“Many thanks,” Black Sea Monster King said, clasping his hands in salute once more.
The Great Monster General didn’t pay him any more attention, simply closing his eyes and minding his own business.
Black Sea Monster King didn’t mind. He and Xu Disheng entered the premises of the majestic Divine Palace, passing through the gate that stood around 100 meters tall.
The inside of the Divine Palace seemed to be brightly lit by a boundless glow that shone through the lustrous jade. In front of the looming, venerated spirit tablet, there was a simple prayer mat, seated upon which was a person in a long, pale blue robe. His back was currently facing the two of them.
(TL: A spirit tablet is basically like the shrine part in a Chinese temple).
“Black Sea greets Divine Excellency Quicksand.”
Even a powerful Primordial Monster stage Monster King like Black Sea Monster King ended up prostrating himself before this figure, showing his utmost respect.
After a pause, Xu Disheng only clasped his hands in salute. “Xu Disheng of the Shangqing Sacred Sect greets Greater Lord Quicksand.”
In referring to the Quicksand Deity, Xu Disheng decided to use the Greater Lord honorific, which would have been the norm in the Shangqing Sacred Sect.
Light and shadow seemed to shift as Xu Disheng’s vision warped. Before he even realized it, the man had already turned around to face them, but his face was blurry and unclear. All he could see was the passing of the countless vicissitudes of time in the divine light radiating from the figure’s eyes.
When Xu Disheng met the figure’s gaze, his heart pounded wildly. It was just like that time he met Greater Lord Zhuri in the Luminous Cloud Abyss. The fear that rose within him came from the depths of his soul—it was a sensation of the soul, engendering a reverence toward an existence more powerful than oneself.
Only with a slight burst of power from the ancient golden true spirit could Xu Disheng finally regain his composure fully. With that, the pounding and trembling of his heart disappeared without a trace.
“Tens of thousands of years ago, Heavenly Lord Yu Jing showed me kindness. After he left, I continued to refine this treasure for over 30,000 years to give to one of his future generations and settle the karma between us,” Divine Excellency Quicksand muttered quietly, sighing with emotion. “It would have been better if you had come to retrieve the item after I reached the Divine Sea stage.”
There seemed to be a hint of regret in his tone, as if he felt it a shame that the item he had been refining to settle their karma had not yet been refined to its utmost peak.
A nine-petaled lotus seat appeared before Xu Disheng, imbued with green light. Divine Excellency Quicksand’s figure disappeared, erupting into motes of light. All that remained were his indifferent-sounding words, echoing in Xu Disheng’s ears.
“This nine-petaled lotus seat is called the Mirror Bodhi. It can serve as your Dao protecting item until you reach the Clone Avatar stage. With this, the karma between me and Heavenly Lord Yu Jing is now settled.”
(TL: Bodhi – a pretty complicated concept in Buddhism which I won’t attempt to describe here. Unless you already understand what it means, it would probably be best to give this definition of it a short read to reach your own understanding.)
Off to the side, Black Sea Monster King was dumbstruck. He stared wide-eyed at Xu Disheng and the nine-petaled lotus platform rotating slowly in front of him, his gaze full of disbelief.
… …
After Heavenly Lord Yu Jing reached the Divine Sea stage, there was a period of time when he had the liberty to act in a free and unrestrained manner under the heavens.
Even though the rise and fall of the Shangqing Sacred Sect rested solely on his shoulders, he had a headstrong, uninhibited temperament. He not only had the guts to go to the Heavenly Nirvana Sect to demand their tribute back, but he also frequently flirted and fooled around with Greater Lord Qiansu of the Ancient Nuwa Sect, indulging in her affections.
In the several Territories surrounding the Shan Mountain Territory, there were also countless people who had received his kindness in the form of advice and pointers in cultivation.
At the time, the Quicksand Deity was only a rank 7 deity when he had received enlightenment from Heavenly Lord Yu Jing, comprehending the Divine Dao that existed within himself. This allowed him to break into the Clone Avatar stage and ascend one divine rank, which allowed him the prospects of one day reaching the almighty Divine Sea stage.
After Heavenly Lord Yu Jing left, these threads of karma that he sowed were handed to each of the Clone Avatar stage Greater Lords of the Shangqing Sacred Sect. And the thread of karma that Greater Lord Zhuri had ownership of was tied to the Greater Lord Quicksand and the supreme treasure that he had been continuously refining for tens of thousands of years!
Xu Disheng never expected even for a moment that this was the ‘tremendous reward’ that Celestial Tide Spirit Master was referring to, nor could he have fathomed the weight of it.
This meant that Realm Master Kunxu’s influence, headed by Greater Lord Zhuri, as well as Primordial Lord Yangze’s influence, headed by Greater Lord Mingxin, were all completely placing their bets on this youth who they called Soul Suppressor Sacred Son.
Search bit.ly/3iBfjkV for the original.